


Luthor Family Christmas Year 6

by wheel_pen



Series: Lucy [18]
Category: Smallville
Genre: Alternate Universe, Christmas, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-24
Updated: 2013-04-24
Packaged: 2017-12-09 10:36:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/773213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wheel_pen/pseuds/wheel_pen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just a short scene from an otherwise unwritten story. Lex and Lucy try to endure an extended family Christmas gathering.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Luthor Family Christmas Year 6

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. Lucy, my original character, is Clark’s cousin on the Kent side. Although human she may have some strange psychic powers and definitely has some issues in her past. She’s having a tough time with her mom and goes to live with Jonathan and Martha for a while. She and Lex form a relationship.
> 
> 2\. In my world, Lex eventually becomes President. And his staff is from The West Wing. 
> 
> 3\. I started writing this series during the third season of Smallville, so it diverges from canon then or earlier.
> 
> 4\. The bad words are censored. That’s just how I do things.
> 
> I hope you enjoy this AU. I own nothing and appreciate the chance to play in this universe.

The dining room was, of course, elegantly decorated: garlands of pine, red velvet ribbons, deep green tablecloth with stars and trees outlined in gold thread. Jazz versions of popular Christmas tunes floated above the fresh flower arrangements and gilt-edged plates filled with ham slices, scalloped potatoes, jello salad, and golden rolls. A still photograph of the empty room would have preserved it as the paragon of tasteful holiday cheer.  A photographer would by now have been too late to capture anything resembling comfort or goodwill, however, since the room was currently filled with people and therefore, tension. Most of the diners were careful, subdued, their innocuous small talk about their careers laced with strained politeness. The bolder among them offered up more colorful anecdotes—usually met by deafening silence—or the occasional condescending remark, which was often followed by much gritting of teeth.

Lucy was getting a headache from all the strain in the room. The music sounded tinny to her ears and the “mood lighting” was too dim for her comfort. She knew she was becoming unreasonably irritated… but still, perhaps she really shouldn’t have come to Luthor Family Christmas this year. Lucy took another sip of water in an attempt to cool down; eight months pregnant, she felt like she had a little heater lodged in her belly, and the country house was already too warm. She’d hardly touched her meal but she felt uncomfortably full anyway.

Besides which, she admitted, she didn’t really _like_ most of the people seated around the table. Lex’s late grandmother had been wonderful and his father was—well, she was _used_ to Lionel anyway… but the others—Granted, she didn’t know Lex’s cousins or their parents that well—this being one of the few times of the year she saw them—but when they rambled on about the appalling lack of amenities on yachts these days and how clever they were to hire atheist nannies who worked all the major holidays, she could feel her head pounding and her stomach churning.

An arm settled around her shoulders and she felt Lex lightly stroking her jaw with his thumb. She realized she’d closed her eyes and quickly opened them again, finding her husband watching her with a frown.

“Are you alright?” he asked discreetly.

“Take your wife outside for some fresh air, Lex,” Lionel advised, unasked, from the head of the table. So much for discretion, Lucy thought. Now everyone was staring at them.

She saw Lex’s jaw tighten at his father’s intrusion, but she couldn’t sit at the table any longer, especially not just to spite Lionel. Awkwardly, she started to stand—everything was awkward at eight months pregnant, she had found—and knew Lex was right behind her. She had gotten quite good at tuning out other people’s unwanted attentions and she moved carefully to the empty hallway, out of sight of the holiday diners.

Once alone Lex turned her face to his and repeated his question, frown deepening. “Let’s go outside,” Lucy suggested by way of answer, heading towards the terrace. She pushed through the glass doors and stepped out onto the patio of intricately-arranged brickwork.

“Bring our coats,” she heard Lex telling a servant, but Lucy didn’t want one. She pictured the snowy breeze blasting the unbearable heat off her like a solar wind stripping layers of gaseous energy from the sun. It felt wonderful.

Her coat settled on her shoulders before she was ready for it, but she had to smile a little at Lex, bundled in a coat, scarf, and hat but beside her nonetheless. He let her stand quietly for about thirty seconds, then pointed out, “Lucy, it’s a blizzard out here.”

“No, it’s not,” she countered easily. “It’s just snowing a little.”

He glanced darkly at the sky. “Suppose the weather gets bad enough that we have to stay the night?” he suggested, and her eyes popped open.

“I hope not. I hate it here.” Lex stared at her, surprised at her sudden words. “It’s too hot and I don’t like anybody.”

“You know,” he responded with a smirk, “that’s what I say every year.”

“You don’t say it’s too hot,” Lucy contradicted.

Lex smiled and put an arm around her shoulders. “But every year,” he continued, “you say we should come anyway.”

“It’s a good tradition for the children,” Lucy reminded them both, like she always did. “They have much more fun than we do anyway.” Lionel, who insisted on his own version of peace and quiet at holiday meals, banished all children and their attendant nannies to the kitchen with the staff for as long as possible. The rumor was that, freed from the watchful eyes of parents and employers, kitchen diners enjoyed spirited holiday music, games, crafts, and double helpings of dessert.

“So… can we go back in yet?” Lex persisted after a quiet moment.

“I’m still hot,” Lucy replied.

He pulled her closer. “You sure are,” Lex whispered in her ear, and she couldn’t help but giggle—and thwap his arm.

Then all of a sudden her last layer of heat was stripped away and Lucy started shivering--the inevitable, if unhealthy, outcome of standing outside in the Kansas winter barely wearing a coat. “Okay, I’m ready to go in,” she told Lex through chattering teeth.

“You were only going to stay out long enough to catch pneumonia?” he chided, guiding her back indoors. He stamped his feet an unnecessarily long time to remove what little snow had dared gather on his expensive shoes, and she was now reluctant to give up her long wool coat; the well-trained, and well-paid, staff member at the door watched them without a hint of impatience or bemusement.

“Do you want to go back to the dining room?” Lex asked Lucy, his reluctance obvious.

She was reluctant as well, but she had a good excuse. “No, I think I’ll go lie down for a while,” Lucy decided, heading for the stairs.

“Can I come with you?” Lex asked, almost pleading.

Lucy leaned over the be-garlanded railing and ran her hand along his jaw until he grabbed it and kissed her palm lightly. From this angle, staring up at her with those blue-grey eyes in the dim sunlight from the entryway, he looked very young to her.

She smiled down at him. “Only if you want your father to berate you for abandoning the after-dinner conversation.” After picking nervously over expensive food for two hours, it was Luthor family tradition to gather in the sitting room, toss back expensive liquor, and say a few more of the things they’d really wanted to say before. Although in theory it sounded more entertaining than dinner, Lucy knew from experience that it did little to ease the tension of the entire holiday event.

Lex rolled his eyes. “I guess I don’t need to put _another_ thing on the list,” he sighed. He focused his gaze on her intently. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yes, Lex.”

“You’re not secretly going into labor or anything?”

Lucy smiled. “Trust me, Lex, if I were going into labor there’d be nothing secret about it.”

“Okay,” he agreed, but obviously against his better judgment. “Call for someone if you need anything.”

All she needed was some peace and quiet in a nice, still bedroom. Something to calm her stomach, and the baby that was kicking it. She pulled away from her husband reluctantly and nodded reassuringly. “I’ll be fine.”

Another sigh, then Lex set his shoulders as if preparing for battle and wandered back towards the dining room. Lucy watched him for a moment, then climbed the stairs with effort. She had a feeling Lex wouldn’t actually make it back into the dining room before dinner broke up.


End file.
